Topic: Doctor Who Movie

[Dragonfire]

I just found a story tonight about David Yates directing a big screen Doctor Who movie.  This is the first I've heard of making a big budget Doctor Who movie.  And I'm ....well...scared.

First of all, while I still enjoyed the Harry Potter movies that Yates directed, he made certain choices that I still feel weren't right for the movies.  So him getting his hands on Doctor Who has me very nervous.  That was just my feeling from reading the headline before I read the story.  Things from the story are what have me scared this will end up being a giant mess and really screw up Doctor Who.

Yates is saying the movie won't follow the tv series in any way and will be a completely fresh approach.  The person who wrote the story seems to think that is a good idea because this way fans won't get ticked off...  If they scrap everything that is Doctor Who, then what's the point of calling it Doctor Who?  The statement that scares me the most about this is Yates saying the material needs a radical transformation to work. 

Here's the link to the story.

http://collider.com/doctor-who-movie-david-yates/126358/

[Najemikon]

Radical transformation to work as a film. Doctor Who has a certain approach that suits TV and when was the last time you saw a film from a TV series that actually worked? The formats are too different. But while I can defend that, the idea overall is bloody pathetic.

[Jimmy]

The Twillight Zone?

[Najemikon]

The Twilight Zone isn't a typical narrative story though, so it doesn't count! 

[W0m6at]

Batman: The Movie

[Jimmy]

The Twilight Zone isn't a typical narrative story though, so it doesn't count! 

OK... Another one and this time it fits the TV serie done well in a movie perfectly (except it was a book first and two movies after and a TV serie after and finally a movie again). The only thing is that I highly doubt you have seen any of them
Un homme et son péché (1949)
Séraphin (1950)
Les belles histoires des pays d'en haut (1956-1970)
Séraphin: un homme et son péché (2002)

Most French Canadians are familliar with this one, I think the serie was shown again on TV a couple of years ago and my brother who is an historian praise this one highly.

[Dragonfire]

Radical transformation to work as a film. Doctor Who has a certain approach that suits TV and when was the last time you saw a film from a TV series that actually worked? The formats are too different. But while I can defend that, the idea overall is bloody pathetic.

The Star Trek movies - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan from what I remember was done really well, building on an episode of the tv show that introduced Khan.
I've liked other movies that were based on tv shows..though I haven't always seen the original shows. 
Radical transformation sounds like it won't be Doctor Who anymore..if things are changed too much, it won't be same. 

[GSyren]

Regarding big screen Dr. Who:
You are aware, I assume, that Peter Cushing played the good doctor in two full length features in the mid sixties?

[Dragonfire]

I heard about them..haven't seen them.

[Najemikon]

The Cushing Doctor Who was dreadful, and his interpretation was not considered canon. He is never referred to as one of the 11 incarnations. Even Paul McGann managed to claim the 8th spot despite that film being weak as well, because his Doctor was continued in comics, etc.

OK... Another one and this time it fits the TV serie done well in a movie perfectly (except it was a book first and two movies after and a TV serie after and finally a movie again). The only thing is that I highly doubt you have seen any of them
Un homme et son péché (1949)
Séraphin (1950)
Les belles histoires des pays d'en haut (1956-1970)
Séraphin: un homme et son péché (2002)

Most French Canadians are familliar with this one, I think the serie was shown again on TV a couple of years ago and my brother who is an historian praise this one highly.

Sir, I shrug in your general direction!  No idea.

And Star Trek II may have been developed from an episode of the series, however, it doesn't quite count because it was first and foremost a sequel to Star Trek The Motion Picture. Which was awful. All five kinds of awful. 

[Dragonfire]

Pick pick.  Technicality. :p

[Jimmy]

And Star Trek II may have been developed from an episode of the series, however, it doesn't quite count because it was first and foremost a sequel to Star Trek The Motion Picture. Which was awful. All five kinds of awful. 

Seriously... Even me who don't watch that type of film is able to recognize it's a good film who treat science fiction seriously, certainly less boring and awfull that Star Wars is and was.

[Najemikon]

And Star Trek II may have been developed from an episode of the series, however, it doesn't quite count because it was first and foremost a sequel to Star Trek The Motion Picture. Which was awful. All five kinds of awful. 

Seriously... Even me who don't watch that type of film is able to recognize it's a good film who treat science fiction seriously, certainly less boring and awfull that Star Wars is and was.

I am almost pissing myself. That's how funny that is! 

The really weird thing is that I can agree with you! Star Trek the motion picture, is a better sci-fi and more serious sci-fi film than Star Wars.

Mainly because Star Wars isn't sci-fi, serious or otherwise.  It's fantasy. I've always liked how people feel they have to choose between Star's Trek or Wars, yet they are so different.

Still, that only counts for certain Star Trek entries. Anyone else see the irony in the fact that the most successful Star Trek films are those that concentrate on the adventure and less on the sci-fi? The new film was a massive success, yet concentrates even more on the fun factor. Not only does it hold true for most of the series that only the even-numbered entries are any good, it also follows that the odd numbered ones try to be more serious in the sci-fi aspects. A philosophical journey to find God? No thanks. How about time-travelling whales? Cooooool! 

By the way, Wrath of Khan is one of my favourite sci-fi adventure films. It's such a strong film and a departure from the horrible part 1, that I don't think it was a coincidence that it was released two years after The Empire Strikes Back. Empire stands as one of the greatest films ever made, not least because it made the hitherto dismissed genres of sci-fi and fantasy, relevant and brilliant. The narrative is a thing of beauty. Wrath of Khan is a product of its legacy.

 

[Jimmy]

I was talking about Star Wars only I like Empire Strike Back (but I can't remember what I tought of Return of the Jedi). I just think that nothing happen in Star Wars, half of the film they walk in the desert and this isn't entertaining for me it's painfull. Never understand why this was so successfull, even as a kid this film didn't worked for me...

Star Trek is a confort zone, we know the characters because we have watch the TV series when we was young (I talk only about the one with the original cast as I have never watch the other films, TV series and certainly not the remake).

[Dragonfire]

And with Star Trek, even though some stuff was changed, from what I remember, the movies still built on things that had been set up in the tv show.  The foundation is there from the tv show.  How good do you think any of the movies would have been if certain things established in the series hadn't been carried forward?  Imagine Spock being a party animal...or even just not as intelligent and logical.  Or they didn't even use the same characters..just make a bunch of random new people with no tie what so ever to the show.  No more Kirk...Spock, Scotty, Sulu etc.  If things had been changed that radically, then it wouldn't have been Star Trek anymore.  If a Doctor Who movie is made that has no connection to the series, then it won't be Doctor Who.  Saying there will be no connection at all makes it sound like they will change things about Time Lords in general..maybe they are no longer from Galifry...different looking TARDIS..  Maybe he runs around the Universe with a machine gun instead of the sonic screwdriver.  It doesn't necessarily have to tie in to all the past Who stuff, but there needs to be at least some small connections for it to work and still be Doctor Who.